Through the Fire
by schweinsty
Summary: The Cullens must face down a new enemy, find a cure for vampirism, and track down a deadly assassin - before the Volturi destroy them. Post BD AU. Canon couples. ON HIATUS.
1. Alice

**Important A.N:** I only recently became a Twilight fan. I started outlining this fic right after I read Eclipse, so, although I enjoyed _Breaking Dawn_ and was mostly happy with the way it ended, there were some things about it that did not fit in my story. I tried to make it as canon-compliant as I could, but I did not account for Nessie or Jacob's imprinting, so those will not be included. Instead of that, this is what happened in this AU universe:

Bella and Edward got married and went on their honeymoon; however, Bella did not get pregnant. She and Edward went back to Forks to meet up with the Cullens. While walking in the woods, Bella was attacked by an assailant (identity still unknown). Edward found her on the brink of death and had no choice but to change her. Jacob was all set to attack Edward for changing her; however, Sam said no, and Jacob left the pack (Seth and Leah following) to confront the Cullens. However, when he found out that Bella had been about to die, he decided to let things be. Unfortunately, Irina saw the Cullens dealing with the werewolves and ran off to the Volturi, who were looking for any reason to go after the Cullens. They decided to say that the Cullens were plotting with the werewolves to take over northwestern North America; the Cullens were able to convince their vampire friends that if the Volturi went after them, no one was safe, and the rest played out much as it did in the book, minus Nessie. Since then, it's been twelve years, and the Cullens are now living in Tok, Alaska and starting over as high school students.

Note: The title for this fic is taken from this quote from _Midnight Sun_ (pg. 263)

"_I did not believe that any member of my family would hesitate if he or she were offered a chance back—if he or she could trade immortality for mortality again. Any one of us would stand in fire for it. Burn for as many days or centuries as were necessary."_

Chapter I

Jasper was in a crummy mood that morning, and it was starting to rub off. He'd been grumpy ever since Peter and Charlotte had visited the week before. Poor Jazz. He'd gotten so much better at controlling his thirst lately, since we had left Forks; seeing Bella – a human – changed, having gotten to know her before she was a vampire – it had helped him start appreciating human life for what it was. Before, theoretically he had understood it, but he had gone so long looking at them as food that it was hard to put theory into practice. Edward's falling in love had been beneficial to the family in more ways than one.

Peter and Charlotte, though, were still a reminder of what he had once been, and he wished more than anything that he could show them what _they_ could be; why it was worth it to be like us. They were polite about listening, and seemed to be interested, but they had left unswayed. Jasper had been cranky since. He'd even snapped at me the last time I had tried to bring it up. More than that, he kept putting out 'waves' of irritation that had everyone short. Most of them had started avoiding him when possible, trying to give him some space to cool off. Carlisle had started spending most of his time at the hospital, saying he had extra work to do.

The rest of us had been irritated even before Jasper started exuding it; we had just relocated, and we'd had to leave our cars in storage in Juneau, investing in four-wheel drives instead. The roads in and around Tok weren't exactly built for aston martins.

Even Bella missed her car.

"Koots is assigning us the Krebs Cycle for homework," she hissed as she walked up to our lunch table. "Again. Like it's that difficult." She slammed her bag down on the table so hard it shook.

Edward, walking up with her, snorted quietly and pulled out a chair for his wife. Always the gentleman, our Edward. "For you, maybe – but most of the students here don't have doctoral degrees in genetics."

Bella gave him a disgusted look and tapped her fingers on the table, no doubt dreading the educational video she was going to have to watch in biology. Edward let out a chuckle and looked at Jasper to share the joke – but Jasper snarled under his breath and looked away. Edward scrunched up his forehead, the way he did sometimes when he played scrabble with Bella.

"Jazz?" I asked, putting my hand up to his cheek. He was sending off waves of restlessness and irritation, even more than he had when Peter and Charlotte had left. He sighed and slumped in his chair, but looked at me. I heard him saying his next words before he opened his mouth.

"Sorry, Alice," said the Jasper in my head and the Jasper at the table, one right after the other. He smiled wryly. "I know I'm being obnoxious. But there's something – around. A feeling of-"

"Malice," Edward finished. He leaned across the table and looked into Jasper's eyes. "It's been flitting around the edges of your thoughts for a week. At first I thought it was just Peter and Charlotte, but this feels… different, doesn't it?"

Jasper nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. He wasn't usually this open at the high school; he must really have been feeling bad about this.

"Peter and Charlotte got annoyed, but there was never any intent behind it, and they're always straightforward about it. This… I've been feeling it on and off for days. It's like someone's wishing us evil."

"Evil?" Bella lifted an eyebrow. I knew she took Jasper's senses seriously, but it did sound a bit melodramatic. Not like Jasper.

Jasper grimaced. "It sounds stupid, but I can feel it. Someone at the edge of my senses. Nothing definite, but-"

"Yes, I think so," Edward interrupted. "Sorry, Bella – Jasper's going to tell Carlisle. It's time he's told. You don't think it's the Volturi, do you?" he asked, turning to me.

I shook my head. I hadn't seen anything concerning the Volturi lately, but… "Let me check."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt Jazz take one of my hands in his, but that was distant to me; I locked it off in my mind and shoved it away, quickly doing so with all the other distractions in the cafeteria: Edward's breathing, Bella's smell, the sound of a group of children scuffling past my table. When all those distractions were gone and I was left in the dark, I thought of the Volturi and opened my mind.

For a second there was nothing. I tried targeting Aro in particular to see if I could find anything concerning our family, but I could only find vague, murky futures where we were all alive. Wondering if it were someone unrelated to the Volturi, I broadened my thoughts and got a vision of Carlisle and all of us sitting around the dining room table later that day, talking about-

Oh.

Oh, _my_.

Well, that certainly was something. Not what I had been looking for, but… this could change everything. And it would certainly be good reason for some of the vampires out there – Volturi included – to wish us harm if they found out about it.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard Edward gasp. So, he'd seen my thoughts. I quickly broke out of my trance and looked at him. He stared back, his brow furrowed.

"We should go home," he said.

"Alice?" Jazz asked patiently. That's what I loved about him – well, one of the things I loved about him. He never got annoyed when I would _do_ things because of my visions, or when Edward and I had private conversations. He knew I would always tell him anything important; sometimes he just had to wait a while to find out.

Case in point.

"Right," I told Edward. "He knew I'd see this – he'll be expecting us. If you find Emmet and Rose – oh, they'll be in the locker rooms - I'll go get us excused from class. Jazz, Carlisle has something to tell us. I think I should let him explain. I'm not sure I understand, myself."

Edward and Bella were off before I finished speaking, Bella hissing questions at Edward too quietly for any of the children to hear. I put my books back in my bag as I talked. I'd taken some out to pretend I was studying earlier. Wasn't too smart to have a 4.0 GPA and never be seen working for it; made some of the humans angry and some of the humans curious, and neither was particularly good for our situation.

Jasper, dear man, helped me into my coat and slung my bag over his shoulder without a word. He knew I wanted to see what else I could find out. He never needed his empathy to know what I was thinking.

I was so lost in my thoughts as I walked out of the cafeteria that I actually bumped into one of the students, clipping her on the arm with my hand. She blinked at me owlishly and grabbed her arm where I had touched her; my hand must have felt cold. Jazz chuckled at me under his breath and took hold of my elbow, steering me to avoid anyone else.

It might have been just me, keyed up from my vision, but as Jazz and I walked out of the cafeteria, I could have sworn I felt someone watching me.

* * *

Emmett and Rosalie – both looking rather disheveled – grumbled as we filed into the house, but they quieted when they saw Carlisle and Esme sitting at the head of the table, looking – not grim, but far more serious than usual. They hadn't looked this serious since the Volturi had gone to Forks to take out the werewolves.

Rosalie hung behind to redo her lipstick and smooth down her hair, but I went and sat down by Esme and put a hand on her arm. She looked nervous. Across from me, Edward sat at Carlisle's side and looked him in the eyes. I could tell they were having a conversation; Edward shook his head once and murmured 'Alice saw' below his breath. Carlisle nodded as if he'd expected this and gave me a quick, reassuring smile.

"All settled?" he asked when Emmett and Rosalie sat down next to Bella and Edward. They nodded. "Good. I'm sure you're wondering what's going on. I wasn't sure whether I should have told you all earlier about this, but my research was only in its preliminary stages. I apologize for keeping secrets from you, but I did not want to give you hope, only to disappoint you later."

"Disappointed?" Rosalie cut in. She leaned across the table towards Carlisle.

Carlisle took a deep breath. "I was always interested in how vampire venom is made and what it consists of; as you know, I have done some tests in the past to fiddle with it, but the science was never there."

He paused; Esme squeezed his hand and nodded at him, and Carlisle continued.

"I recently came across some research being done concerning genetic manipulation of chromosomal pairs, and it gave me an idea. It's a farfetched hypothesis, especially with the technology advancing so slowly, but, given that we all have medical degrees and unlimited time on our hands, I think it might be possible." Carlisle paused again and looked all of us, one at a time, in the eye. Jasper's arm tightened nervously around me, and I heard some of the others breathe harder.

"I think I've found a way to make us human again."


	2. Alice II

Chapter II

_Human_.

The silence that followed Carlisle's words was deafening. Jazz's fingers tightened on my shoulder. I knew the sudden explosion of emotions must be disconcerting, and that was without the emotions that he was feeling by himself. He gasped and drew in several short, sharp breaths.

Edward wasn't faring much better; he at least had been prepared, but even knowing what was coming didn't help much. He had his elbow on the table and was pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes screwed shut tightly. His head must have been aching.

And me? I… I wasn't entirely sure what I thought. The vision had blindsided me at first. I'd been so shocked I really hadn't taken it in. I had just reacted.

I felt numb.

I had never really considered that my vampirism could be reversible. Once you were changed, that was it. A one-way ticket. I hadn't ever known anything else; unlike the others, I only knew what it was like to be immortal. I wasn't unhappy; how could I be, with my family and with Jasper? I loved my life. But I had always wondered what a human life would be like. No, more than wondered. I wanted it. There are only so many times you can go to school before it becomes torturous, only so many mornings you can wake up before you start wondering what you're waking up for, only so many times you can shy away from human touch before you want to hug someone with skin that isn't cold and hard as iron.

No more wondering what to do with the eons that stretched ahead. No more hiding away from the world.

No more thirst.

I had never thought it would be possible to have a human life – and I still wasn't sure I did, no matter what Carlisle said – but the thought that it might filled me with hope, faint though it was.

I took a quick glance around the table. Emmett looked stunned, mouth hanging open and eyes wide as saucers. Rosalie looked like she was either on the verge of laughing or crying hysterically; for a second I had a vision of her accidentally breaking the table in half – she was leaning on it quite heavily – but Emmett finally broke out of his stupor and put a hand on her arm. Thank goodness; Esme really loved this dining set.

Bella and Edward were sitting next to each other with twin looks of concentration on their faces: Edward, because he was trying to block everyone's thoughts out, Bella, because she was trying to put up her field so Edward couldn't read her. I couldn't tell what they were thinking. Edward just looked overwhelmed, though that might have been the thoughts around him. Bella looked… hesitant, in a way. Like she wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words.

Esme and Carlisle looked cool and collected outwardly, but I could tell they were worried. Carlisle's eyebrows were creased just the tiniest bit, and Esme was gripping his hand harder than usual. They were patient, waiting for the news to sink in.

I was about to speak up when I saw that Edward was about to ask a question, so I kept quiet and tried to focus on the moment.

"That's why you've been spending so much time at the hospital," he said. He slung his arm across the back of Bella's chair and tugged her a little closer, even though she was practically sitting on his lap. I could understand; I needed Jasper too – to make sure I wasn't dreaming, if nothing else. "To do research – and to keep me out of your mind."

Carlisle smiled, and the tension in the room seemed to go down a little. I felt Jasper relax his hold around me. Good.

"Yes, I didn't want to have to explain this more than once. I'm sorry if I've been absent lately, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything." His eyes lingered on Rosalie as he spoke. She was smiling – giggling almost. If she could have, I think she would have been crying.

"And you're sure now?" Jasper's chest shook when he spoke. I leaned my head against it and took a deep breath to steady myself. _Human_. It didn't seem possible. Jazz wasn't in a much better condition; without a word, he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me onto his lap, but his hands were shaking. I didn't need to be an empathic to feel the excitement coming off him.

Carlisle nodded. "It will take some time to develop the formula, but, yes, I believe we can successfully neutralize the venom." His mouth crinkled in a frown as he continued, and Edward sucked in a breath. "However, it is impossible to say whether our bodies will survive the transformation. The process will change our DNA – the basic structure of our bodies – and I don't know if our bodies would still be… viable after that. We have plenty of time to think about this, and I do not want any of you to feel pressured in the least. This is not a decision to be taken ligh-"

"I'll do it." Rosalie didn't even think about it before she spoke – I would have known. She looked so determined. "I'll try it out, if that's what we need. Can't be worse than-"

Emmett's grip around her arm tightened, and he made a small noise that could have been a 'no.'

Carlisle looked them down calmly. "As I said, we have plenty of time to think about this. Even if we get started on the anti-venom right away, it will still take us some time – at least a year or two – to finalize the formula, so there's no need for rash decisions."

Rosalie took a breath, but said nothing, and Carlisle turned his attention to the rest of us. "Are there any other questions, or are we ready to vote on it?" When no one said anything, he nodded and looked at Edward.

"I'd like to try," Edward said with a long, scrutinizing look at Bella. She looked at him innocently, and Edward scrunched up his eyes so much I thought there would be steam coming out from his ears.

Carlisle looked at Bella.

She bit her lip. "If the anti-venom… that is, yes. We can… we can always – we should try it. I'm in."

I wondered what she was thinking. Knowing her, she was probably worrying about Edward, in case the anti-venom didn't work. She couldn't bear to lose him again. But I had faith in Carlisle; I was sure he would find a way to test the anti-venom before giving it to any of the family.

Rosalie didn't even wait for Carlisle to answer. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded even before Bella was done talking. "Of course."

Emmett wasn't as quick, but he said yes too, after a glare from Rosalie. I had a vision of their fighting in the garage later today. It looked like it would end well, but – oh, poor Edward: Rosalie was going to throw his aston martin into a tree. Well. Aston martins were easily replaced.

Jasper and I said yes when Carlisle asked us, as did Esme. Carlisle looked around the table again, and his smile was excited.

"Well then, we're decided." He grinned at Esme and laced his fingers through hers. "We'll need to catch up on our genetics. Edward, Emmett, Alice, your medical degrees are out of date; you're going to need to study and catch up as we go. Bella, you and Esme both specialized in genetics, so I'm going to need you to start sifting through the data I've gathered and see what you can find. Rosalie, there's a conference on chromosomal modification we should go to in two weeks in Belfast; I'll need you to act as my assistant and find what equipment we're going to need. Jasper, I'll need some IDs to buy it with, if you can get those. Oh, and those-"

As the buzz of voices around the table grew, I tuned them out and snuggled into Jazz, basking in the moment.

_Human._

I could hardly believe it.

After that, going to school the next morning was nerve-wracking. I was bouncing in my seat all morning just waiting for class to end so we could go home and start working on the anti-venom. Carlisle had said it was important for us to keep up appearances, but I wished he would have let us skip. I had never despised going to school like some of the others, but now I understood why they hated it so much. Biology in particular seemed to drag on; Mr. Koots seemed very excited to explain the inner workings of the mitochondrial cell, but I couldn't bring myself to focus on his lecture when I knew more about cells than he would ever learn.

To pass the time, I peeked into the futures of some of my classmates. It was very intrusive, and I usually tried not to, but I was desperate to pass the time quickly. Rosalie and I shared a table in the lab, and she noticed what I was doing, but she didn't even give me a scolding look. She wanted the day to pass just as much as I did.

Sally Checora was going to buy her little sister a grey and white kitten. Liz Corbin was going to fall off her shed roof and break her wrist, but she would get a date with one of the orderlies at the hospital because of it. George Accawinna was going to buy his parents a pair of tickets to the opera in Juneau for their anniversary later this month.

I quickly got bored of the children in my biology class and focused on the next classroom over – Advanced French. Jasper and Edward were in it.

The students there were more difficult to read, as I couldn't see them and didn't even know who all of them were. It was more interesting that way. I got snatches of things, here and there: one of them making out with Sally Checora on next week's field trip, another one drinking a cup of tea in her living room tonight, another one – and I giggled, eliciting a nudge from Rosalie – trying to flirt with Edward and being interrupted by a rather jealous Bella.

It was going well until I saw one of the girls – the one I had bumped into the day before. She was sitting in her room, writing a suicide note; there was a bottle of sleeping pills sitting on her desk, and she was crying. I almost gasped out loud but managed to check myself. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and the vision didn't take place until this weekend; I intended to get Jazz to calm the girl down for the time being and leave an anonymous tip at the counselor's office. I opened my mind to see if my decision would change the outcome for her, and suddenly-

Suddenly I was in the middle of a forest, forty feet away from a pile of old boards. There was smoke everywhere, and it took me a minute to realize that the mound of boards had once been a house. The fire was just going out. The vision started to clear up, and my breath caught.

It was our house. Our house here in Tok. It had been completely demolished. There was shattered glass everywhere from the windows, and half of the dining room table was sitting in the upper branches of a pine tree, and Edward's piano was lying in several pieces on top of the rubble from the garage. It was a wreck – but that wasn't the worst part.

Slowly, as the blur lifted from my vision, I started to make out humans – six of them – lying in the rubble. At least, they had been human. They had been slaughtered, dismembered and disfigured so badly I could barely tell who they were. There were – pieces – of them, though, that were recognizable. The ring on one hand I knew to be Carlisle's. One with locks of long, beautiful golden hair had to be Rosalie. There could be no mistaking that hideous pair of sweatpants that Bella insisted on wearing, even when they were torn up and covered in blood. I could make out Emmett, too, and Esme, and someone that might once have been Edward. It was horrible.

Suddenly, I heard a long, agonized scream that I recognized immediately. There – away from the house, in a clearing where we had parked. Jazz lay on the ground, writhing in agony. There was blood splashed across his face, and his stomach was bleedingheavily, but that wasn't what was causing him pain; I recognized what this was. Jazz suddenly flung out his arm as if to reach for something, and I looked where he was pointing, knowing in my heart what I would find.

I was lying a few feet behind Jane, at Aro's feet. I was wearing a polka-dotted sundress and a matching headband. My neck was broken, and my eyes were glazed over.

Aro suddenly snapped his fingers, and Jane took a step back. Jazz stopped screaming, though it didn't seem he had the strength to get up; he curled up on the ground, sobbing, still reaching for me. Aro walked over to him and crouched next to him, put a hand on Jazz's forehead.

"Ha!" Aro looked at Jane. He grinned. "He knew he couldn't stop me before I killed her – he knew you would get him – and he still tried! What an amusing child."

Jazz shuddered. It was clear he didn't have long to live.

"Well, let's not keep his wife waiting, hmm?" Aro reached down and put his hands on Jasper's neck. "What a pity."

And he twisted his arms, and Jazz slumped onto the ground and-

"Alice! Alice!"

Rosalie's slap brought me out of the trance.

I was sitting on the floor of my biology classroom. Rosalie and Edward were sitting in front of me, surrounded by the other students, and someone was holding me from behind, arms wrapped around my stomach. Jasper. He was safe, and that was all that mattered. I turned and threw my arms around him without a word, and only when he started making soothing noises did I realize I was sobbing.

Jazz was safe. Jazz was _safe_. My family was safe, and the Volturi were nowhere near us.

I heard Emmett talking to Mr. Koots – something about post traumatic stress disorder and an incident from my childhood – but I only cared that Jazz was here with me, and safe. I barely noticed when my husband stood up with me still in his arms and carried me out of the room, muttering something about the nurse.

The rest was a vague blur. The sterile smell of the nurse's office, snatches of conversation – 'Suddenly started having a fit…' 'Just started screaming for Jasper like she was terrified' – and the familiar smell of my brothers and sisters crowding around me.

The next thing I knew, Carlisle was crouching in front of me, looking worried. He asked me what was wrong, but I didn't tell him – I didn't want to face that vision again yet. I shook my head and huddled against Jasper. Jazz hadn't let go of me since he'd picked me up; he rocked me back and forth and sent small spikes of calm into me, but they didn't do much. It wasn't enough against a vision like that.

Jazz carried me out of the school and into Esme's jeep, settling me safely in his lap. I was calmer by then and noticed that the others were leaving too, though they rode in Edward's car.

Esme sat in the back seat with us while Carlisle drove. She rubbed my back and kept up a low chatter all the way back, for which I was thankful. Jazz kept quiet, stroking my hair and holding me close against his chest. It was more calming than his empathic abilities could have been; by the time we made it back to the house, I'd stopped crying.

We headed straight to the living room, Jazz carrying me all the way. I could have walked, but I wasn't going to complain. I knew he was safe, but I needed to feel it, too. I wasn't the only one, I noticed; Edward was holding Bella very close, and, like Jazz, he pulled her into his lap when we sat down.

Carlisle waited until I was composed before he said anything. "Alice?"

I shuddered. I didn't want to relive it, but I knew the others had to know. Jazz tightened his arms around me and kissed my hair, and I felt a swell of peace calm me down.

"The – the anti-venom's going to work," I said. I reached down and took hold of one of Jasper's hands, interlocking our fingers, and thought of that and not the _snap_ that Jasper's neck had made when he died. "We're all going to be human again."

I heard Rosalie take a deep breath.

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" Emmett asked, clearly wondering what had caused me so much pain. I heard rather than saw Carlisle lean forward in his seat, his hands gripped together tightly around his knees.

I shook my head and wrapped my free arm around Jazz's neck. "The – the Volturi aren't going to like it."

_Jasper's safe, Jasper's alive,_ I told myself, trying uselessly to keep the scene from replaying in my head.

"What will they do, Alice?" Carlisle asked me.

It was useless. I saw Jazz, lying on the ground, bleeding. And the look on his face when he saw me…

"They- they'll kill us. Torture us. And Jazz, they… Jane and Aro, you tried to save me and they…." I gave in and started sobbing again, curling into him. I couldn't take it. I'd rather be a vampire than have him go through that. Jazz started rocking back and forth again and sending me little bursts of serenity, trying to calm me down as I saw him die over and over in my head. I knew, though, even as I sobbed into Jasper's shirt, that Rose wouldn't take no for an answer. Even if she knew the Volturi were coming, she would find a way to make the anti-venom. The others, too; we all wanted more than anything – almost anything – to be human, and now that we had the chance, no one was going to give it up easily.

If we didn't find a way to outsmart the Volturi, we were all going to die.


	3. Nina

**Important A.N:** This chapter is narrated by an original character. However, I want to make several things clear: this character is here to advance a plotline; she is not going to be one of the most major characters in the story, though she will play an important part in a plot point; she is not special in any way, besides some clinical depression, and she is not, in any way, shape, or form, modeled after me. And, most importantly, she is not now or ever going to fall for a major character, nor will a major character fall for her, and she will have minimal interaction with the other characters.

Chapter III

I was feeling pretty good about things on Wednesday. Had been since I'd decided what I was going to do. For the first time in months, I felt peaceful. It would all be over this Saturday. No more worrying.

I just had to get through this week first.

I was going to do it on Saturday; my dad was going to Anchorage for the weekend, and I wanted to make sure he would be out of the house when I did it. I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

I hadn't felt this content to be at school in over a year. The sooner I was done with my classes, the sooner I could go home and prepare. I had a lot to do: I didn't want to leave any loose ends around, and I wanted to make this as painless for my parents as possible.

First, I had to tackle my locker. I went to school half an hour early just to do so. I hadn't cleaned it in weeks, and there were several peanut butter sandwiches stuffed in the back. I hadn't been eating well for a while, but I'd never bothered to throw them out, and I didn't want my dad to have to have to get my books or anything. That would be cruel.

I had no illusions about the pain that this would cause my father, at least in the short term. I knew he would be hurt deeply. But this way, things would be better in the long run for everyone involved.

I was scrubbing some mold off my locker when I heard them walking down the hall. I recognized their voices right away; I don't think there was any girl (or most guys, for that matter) that wouldn't have. The Cullen kids were demigods in little-town Tok high school. Impossibly good-looking and smart and suave like you wouldn't believe, though they were kind of standoffish, even cold, to anyone with a different last name. They were like the Brady Bunch of supermodel families. Everyone spent half their time wondering where Carlisle found these kids and the other half wishing the Cullens were single.

There were only two of them this time, walking down the hall adjacent to the lockers. I could hear them, but they couldn't see me. It was two of the boys – Emmett and Jasper. Emmett had a deep, booming voice, and Jasper's slow but subtle drawl was distinctive. Supposedly, Jasper and Rosalie had been taken in by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen only a year ago, but I found their story kind of suspicious. Maybe it was my dad's curiosity coming out in me, but I had heard Jasper talking the other day when that girlfriend of his – Alice – spazzed out, and his accent was thicker than an Alaskan snowdrift, but normally, you had to be paying attention to make it out at all, and Rosalie sounded more like my cousin from Pennsylvania than anything else. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn that they'd grown up on opposite ends of the country.

Well, it was none of my business, and there was probably a good and boring explanation for it. They'd probably all had screwed up childhoods anyway. Look at Alice Cullen. She seemed normal, but yesterday she'd just gone mental. We'd heard her screaming in the next class – sounded like she was being killed or something. Jasper and Edward had been out the door before I could even blink. I'd never seen anyone run that fast. Alice had been really messed up. Usually she was this ϋber-happy, bouncy little thing – hell, I'd once seen her and Jasper doing what looked like the twist in an empty hall during homeroom – but yesterday she'd been completely different. She was screaming and crying and didn't know where she was, and she was flailing like she was trying to fight someone off. She didn't look strong, but she kicked one of the lab stools so hard it slammed against the wall and broke. Jasper wrestled her to the ground and held her down, and it looked like he was having a hard time of it, even though he was so much bigger than her. He kept talking to her really slowly to calm her down, but she'd kept screaming his name, her eyes rolling around like she was in the Exorcist. She'd finally stopped, but it had been really freaky.

And speaking of freaky: Emmett and Bella had gotten to the lab half a minute after me, and I'd heard Emmett tell Mr. Koots that he'd heard Alice screaming, but I knew they couldn't have. He and Bella were taking sex ed – that is, 'Health and Humanity' – in one of the portables (I'd heard Mr. Chapman tell Ms. Valladolie that they were constantly passing notes, but he could never catch them at it and they always knew exactly what he was talking about). I knew they couldn't have heard Alice over there – Bryn Corbie was in there with them, and he'd had no idea what was going on. I'd heard him talking with Sally Checora after class. He said Emmett and Bella had just suddenly stood up and said they were going to the nurse. Maybe they just had really good hearing or Alice had a panic button or something. Hell if I knew.

That morning, Emmett and Jasper were talking quietly, like they didn't want to be overheard, but I was pretty sure they hadn't noticed me. At first I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but the conversation sounded intense.

I stopped scrubbing at my locker and tried to breathe quietly. It was definitely my dad coming out in me, but I was curious about the Cullens.

"-If they come anyway? I know he said he'd think about it, but Carlisle hates fighting more than anything. What if the Volturi-"

"They can't come before we've even figured out the chromosomes, bro. I know you're worried about Alice, but we've got a couple years to figure it out. We can figure this out – and if we get to kick some Volturi ass anyway, it's me they'll have to worry about first. You worry about Alice now."

"I know. But if Carlisle's wrong or if we don't make it in time- I'm going after them before they can kill Alice, whether or not you come with me."

"You know Rosalie'll kill me if she finds out."

"Yeah, and Bella – God, that'll be-"

I had gotten so caught up in listening to them that I hadn't noticed how close they were getting until they turned the corner and saw me. They stopped in their tracks; Emmett clenched his fist, and Jasper's eyes grew wide. I gaped at them, wondering what the hell was going on with them. Volturi? Chromosomes? Someone killing Alice? The whole family was freaking nuts. Maybe they were joking or something? Maybe it was part of a role-playing game. I'd once caught Brynn Corbie in a monologue about how he was going to rip off Michael something-or-other's head, only to find out that Michael was the name of a 'tremendous troll.' Yes. It was probably something stupid like that. Though it didn't explain why they were staring at me like that.

"H-hey," I said, picking up the wet rag. They looked… scary. Emmett looked like he had stopped breathing entirely, and Jasper had a strange gleam in his eye. "I- I thought I heard you, but…but I wasn't sure. H-how is your sis- Alice, right? How is Alice doing?"

Jasper's eyes widened just the tiniest bit, and, after a long look at him, Emmett took a deep breath and unclenched his fist.

"She's better," Jasper said shortly. He made as if to turn, but stopped suddenly. "Cleaning out your locker?"

I was surprised by the change in subject, but found myself blushing before I could think. _What if they knew, what if they figured it out, crap what would I tell my dad_ – I calmed after a second; of course they had no idea what was going on. I'd been careful not to let anything slip. "It got… dirty."

"Huh." Emmett looked at Jasper out of the corner of his eye like they were having a private conversation, and I heard a low hissing noise, but I didn't see their lips moving. Probably a draft. The seniors always left the windows by their lockers open, even when it was freezing outside. "Oh. Huh. I – uh, I forgot to go turn in something. At the office. I'll – uh, I'll see you later, bro."

He walked away quickly, taking long strides down the hall. He was huge, but he still looked like a ballerina. I would have thought it a family trait, but Jasper and Rosalie looked every bit as graceful. Maybe Dr. Cullen had enrolled them in dancing classes?

I was so engrossed in watching Emmett walk away that I forgot Jasper was there until he took a few steps towards me and put his hand on me shoulder.

I looked at him in surprise; not only was his hand as freezing as his girlfriend's had been the other day, this was the first time I'd ever seen Jasper Hale voluntarily touch _anyone_ he didn't live with.

Just as I was going to say something, he smiled at me and spoke. "Hang in there, hmm?"

I was going to ask him what he was doing, but suddenly I was overcome by a feeling of calmness and peace. It was so sudden I felt almost dizzy, and I leaned against the lockers heavily. Jasper's smile widened into a grin, and I caught a flash of bright white teeth before he backed away and folded his arms against his chest.

"Good afternoon, Nina," he said as he walked away.

I turned back to my locker and shook my head, but the strange bubbly feelings lingered. There was something very strange about the Cullens.

* * *

I was still feeling upbeat at lunch. I had known that I was having a 'good' day today – it only made sense, knowing as I did that all of my life's problems would be resolved so soon – but this was just strange. I still felt vaguely depressed and exhausted, but flitting at the edge of my consciousness all morning long was a sense of hope. Peace. The feeling that I could make it through this weekend alive – and the weekend after that, and the one after that.

Were these just normal second thoughts, or were they something more? Maybe, I thought, I had been wrong to decide on – but no, I couldn't go that far. My feelings of loneliness and desolation were still deeply entrenched in my heart. I had decided on this course of action, and I was going to do it.

But, I thought, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to put it off a bit. Just for another weekend.

I was debating this while I got my lunch and sat down at my table. My best friend, Rebecca, was visiting some relatives this week, so I sat with a couple of acquaintances who didn't really expect me to join in the conversation. I certainly didn't mind.

I was so deep in thought that I wouldn't have noticed the Cullens if Sally – one of the girls at my table – hadn't pointed them out to me. Jasper was gone – probably gone home to Alice – but Emmett and Edward were staring at me and talking to each other. It was only for a split second before they turned and looked at each other (I could have sworn I saw Rosalie hiss at them), so quick I wouldn't have believed my eyes if I hadn't had that strange conversation with Emmett and Jasper earlier that day. But I knew. They were looking at me, and they had been talking about me.

_They knew._

I froze up until Sally accidentally dropped her fork next to my chair. I took another quick glance at the Cullens, but they were chuckling and talking to each other. It looked like Bella was telling a joke. There was something strange about them, though, something unnatural about the way they were laughing. It looked forced. Emmett was sitting straight up in his chair, Rosalie looked like she was going to spring out of her chair, and Edward, though he was laughing, looked like he wasn't really paying attention.

Maybe I had been wrong, I decided. Maybe they didn't know about my plans, but they were worried that I had overheard them earlier. Which meant that their conversation had been serious.

I hadn't paid it much attention; I'd been thinking of my own problems. But now, the more I thought it over, the more it seemed to me like they had been talking in earnest. But that was silly: who on earth would want to kill the Cullens? And I had never heard of any sort of organization called the Volturi. Maybe they were in the witness protection program? But that wouldn't explain 'the chromosomes' they had mentioned. Or maybe they were fugitives of some sort… but no, I knew that was stupid. The hospital would have done a serious background check on Dr. Cullen. Hmm, maybe my dad would know something about the Volturi. As editor of the _Tok Gazette_, he was a fountain of useless trivia.

I was wrapped up in my thoughts until Sally nudged me in the side with her elbow. I looked at her, but she pointed up as the intercom system blared up again.

"Nina Soto to the counselor's office. Nina Soto to the counselor's office."

I shrugged at Sally's questions and told her I'd see her later. As I walked out of the cafeteria, I walked past the Cullens' table and took a good look at them, but they were studiously avoiding looking away from their table. Strange.

I knew something was wrong when I reached the counselor's offices and saw my dad sitting in one of the inner offices. _He knew. They knew. Oh God, they knew._

Jasper Hale was standing at the receptionist's desk in the outer office when I walked in. I barely noticed him, but I suddenly felt a burst of courage and walked straight into Mrs. Saroyan's office.

"Nina, please sit down," she said, and she looked at me with pitying eyes. I couldn't look at my dad, but he squeezed my shoulder as I sat down.

"We recently received an anonymous tip, and we're worried about how you're doing."

I hardly remember the rest of that meeting; I'd had the rug pulled out from under my feet, and it was like all the emotions I'd bottled up inside me were finally spilling over. But there was one thing that I would remember later, when I had a bit of time to think things over.

Jasper Hale had been deep in conversation with the receptionist when I walked in, but as I sat down I saw him out of the corner of my eye: the receptionist pointed at me, and I saw him nod his head affirmatively.

Jasper Hale had been the one who had sent in the anonymous tip. Jasper Hale had known I was planning on killing myself that weekend.

But today had only been the second time I'd ever talked to him, and I knew for a fact that no one on earth knew what I was going to do.

I didn't think anything of it at the time, but two weeks later, as I was walking out of the hospital in Anchorange, I had a new plan:

I was going to find out exactly who the Cullens were.


	4. Carlisle

A.N: I should have mentioned this earlier, but I forgot: I took the name of the city the Cullens live in (Tok, Alaska) and estimated the population of it in about ten or so years, but other than that I know nothing more than a quick trip to the city's chamber of commerce website can tell me.

Also, the Twilight Lexicon's Twilight has been invaluable for this fic for figuring out which historical references I could make :).

A.N. for Chapter: This particular POV was lots of fun for me to write, so it's a bit longer than the other chapters. Also, I realized that I had been focusing too much on the plot and not enough on the characters, as my outline is very vague, so I'm trying to fix that starting here. Constructive criticism is always appreciated - really, I won't get the least bit mad about criticism on my writing as long as it's not 'You suck' or something like that. It is very useful to me as a writer, and I really appreciate everyone who leaves reviews. I will never hold my fic hostage for more reviews - you guys get it as soon as it's edited and ready - and I'd post this even if it didn't get any, but I really appreciate feedback, and thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave it. But enough ANs :). Please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter IV

For the first time in years, I found it difficult to focus on my patients. I went through the motions of working at the hospital, but my mind kept going back to the previous day's happenings, playing the family meeting over and over.

It had gone much as I had feared it would, once I heard what Alice had seen. Jasper and Emmett immediately went into fighting mode, with Edward more reservedly agreeing with them. They had, I was sure, already started making plans as to what they would do in case the Volturi attacked. Bella and Esme had gone the opposite tack, trying to think of ways we could keep this from the Volturi or keep them from attacking if they did. Bella and Edward were in the middle of a heated (but completely quiet) argument before I knew it, with Bella hissing something to him and stalking out of the room after a few minutes.

Rosalie had not been thinking of the Volturi, I knew; the only important thing, for the moment, in Alice's vision for her was the assurance that we could find a way to make the anti-venom work. I knew that she would let nothing stand between her and a chance at humanity, even if that meant going head-to-head with Aro himself.

Alice had merely been terrified, clinging to Jasper as if her life depended on it. I couldn't imagine what she had seen. I knew if I had a vision of Esme being tortured to death, I would do anything to keep it from coming true, so it was easy to guess what her stance would be on the anti-venom or on picking fights with the Volturi.

And me? At first I had been stunned, just like the rest of them, but I had quickly put that aside when I saw them starting to come apart. I had focused on Alice first, making sure she was not going into hysteria, and I had then told everyone that our first order of business should be to find a way to safeguard ourselves from the Volturi, and we could come up with a solution after we had thought about it some more.

I hated fighting. If my youth in England had taught me something, it was that violence and hatred gave back the same in return. Trite, I know, but true nonetheless. My time with the Volturi had only further assured me that I was right. I abhorred violence; it was the antithesis of everything I had come to believe in. I had taken an oath to save any life I could, and I did not take that oath lightly.

But sometimes saving a life required taking another, and I would be faced with a decision. And when one of the lives was my family, my choice was made.

I might have told my children that we would focus purely on defensive measures for now, but I hadn't meant it. Even before Alice had finished speaking, my mind had been spinning ahead, working on a way we could neutralize the threat from the Volturi.

It sounded absurd just to think about it. If the thought had occurred to me a hundred years ago, I would have laughed it off. When I had first met Aro, the Volturi had been at a fraction of their current power, and even so I would not have entertained the idea of defying them, not with twice the strength of my family. It could only result in the merciless slaughter of those whom I loved.

It could not be done.

But we would have to. For as much as I could debate the point and try to put off the decision, I knew there could be only one end to this. It was time again for another decision, and my choice was already made.

If the Volturi were going to kill us, we would have to kill them first. There was no other option.

I had a very hard time concentrating on my patients that day.

* * *

By the time I got home, I felt almost tired, as if that were possible for a creature such as me. My head ached from chasing my thoughts in circles, and I longed to spend some quiet time with Esme before revisiting the issue at hand. I would need the strength.

It was not to be, however; no sooner did I step foot in the door than I heard a loud crash come from upstairs, followed by an 'I'm sorry!' that could be from none other than Bella.

"Edward's studying the case file again," said a voice from the living room. Alice was sitting on Jasper's lap, ostensibly watching a documentary on Pompeii, though Alice had her eyes shut, and Jasper was watching Alice.

"Bella's been trying to distract him all day," Alice continued, not opening her eyes.

I sighed; just one more thing to worry about. After Bella was attacked and left for dead nine years ago, forcing Edward to turn her, Edward had become obsessed with finding out who had instigated the attack. At first we had helped him, spending the days of Bella's transformation gathering what information we could; Jasper and Rosalie had even spent a week trying to hunt down a scent in the area, but it had turned out to be just a skittish newborn.

The first year had been hard for Bella; she had been in a near-constant state of bloodlust so bad that she had barely been rational. We took turns watching her, and Edward spent all his time either with Bella or losing himself in his search for Bella's attacker. He had been planning to change her either way, but whoever had assaulted her had made sure she suffered. I had been a minute or two behind Edward when he found her after the attack – the family had been out hunting in the deep woods – and it had not been a pretty sight. She had almost died before Edward turned her. I would never forget the look in my son's eyes as he crouched over her that day.

Fortunately, Bella remembered very little of the incident, but Edward was determined not to let it go. He slaved over what little information he had, taking trips to the place of the attack every few weeks. It got to the point where he barely interacted with anyone but Bella, who, in those first months, was barely capable of holding a conversation, so distracted was she by the thirst. Things came to a head when one day Emmett and Jasper tried to take their brother out hunting, and Edward, not wishing to be distracted for one minute, lashed out at them, fighting them with all his strength. Esme and I were only just able to calm them down long enough to distract Edward and let Jasper hit Edward with all the calm and lethargy he could muster. While Edward was stunned, Emmett had carried him out to the woods to hunt, and when they came back I had hidden all of Edward's files. I was able to conceal their location from him long enough to have a family meeting and convince him to take a break from his investigations – in effect, I threatened to have Jasper and Emmett follow him constantly and lock him in the basement if he tried to work on it. I had not had to take such drastic measures on anyone but a newborn, and I did not like it, but it was necessary. Edward acceded (rather gracelessly, as he spent the next several weeks sulking and eavesdropping on everyone, but I counted a win as a win), and he had only looked at his notes sporadically, but every so often, when things got stressful – like when Bella slipped up in Portland and we had to move in the middle of the night – he would retreat to his room and emerge after several days looking sick and exhausted.

Bella, of course, thought he should 'let it go already', and the arguments they had when he got in a funk were long and loud and often caused significant structural damage to the house. Of course, they always made up, but it was always stressful and put the rest of the family, Jasper especially, in a funk.

I momentarily debated going upstairs and trying to stop the two, but the angry growling gave me pause; it would not be long before one of them walked off in a huff, and soon after that they would be falling over themselves to apologize. It always went that way.

Jasper and Alice informed me that Esme was shopping in town and would probably be a while. It was clear that they were preoccupied, so I went in search of Rosalie and Emmett. I knew even before I heard them exactly where they would be – not so much due to my senses as to the eighty-odd years spent being their 'father.'

The night after I'd told them of my research, Rosalie had hooked up several of our computers in the basement and downloaded (I wasn't quite sure how, but I wasn't going to ask) some of the software used by a Michigan university group that had done some related work on genetics. By the time Esme and I looked in on her, she was working on creating a computer model of the vampire chromosomes, having to make many modifications to the software in order to accommodate the unique form. Emmett had joined her without her asking him, sighing resolutely and going over strings of computer code. They hadn't stopped – not even slowed down – after Alice's visions. Rosalie was determined to be a human again, and Emmett was determined to make her happy any way he could.

Judging from the backpacks lying in the doorway, they had come here right after school and hadn't taken a break – a rarity, for the most outwardly 'affectionate' couple in the household. Rosalie was hunched over in front of a desktop, and Emmett was lying underneath her desk, fiddling with some wires on the tower.

"Try it again, babe – I think I've got it." Emmett's voice was muffled from holding a USB cable in his mouth. It would have been comical if I hadn't known that the sooner they finished with this, the sooner the Volturi would come after us.

Rosalie leaned forward slightly and typed furiously for a few seconds. "Hmm, I think that might have done it. The imaging protocols are – no, wait, there's another parsing error here. Hmm, maybe if I just…"

She trailed off, so engrossed in her work that she did not realize I was standing behind her. Emmett grinned and waved at me, though I thought the grin looked rather stretched. He must be worrying about Rosalie just as much as I was worrying about Esme, but he couldn't stop himself from helping her. Poor kid.

"You're missing a semi-colon on the eighth line here," I said over her shoulder as I looked at the program. The kids weren't the only ones who had picked up extra degrees here and there. Mine had mostly been online or part-time, but I was still a certified computer programmer, mechanical engineer (though that was a bit outdated), biologist, geneticist, and interior decorator (though that had been a personal favor to Esme and Alice, and was mostly a forbidden topic around the household).

Rosalie's eyes flicked up to me and back to the screen. "Hmm, you're right. If we fix that, maybe the par-"

I took a deep breath and interrupted her before she could continue. I knew she probably wouldn't listen, but I had to try anyway. "Rosalie, perhaps it would be wise to just wait a bit before you-"

"I'm sorry," she said. She bit her lip – habit she'd picked up from Bella – and her fingers wavered over the keyboard. I sensed Emmett tense and stop breathing where he lay below the desk. "I know it might be – safer, but I can't, not now that we know it will work. I'm sorry, Carlisle."

I sighed. Just as I'd expected. "It's all right, kid." I squeezed her shoulders and pressed a kiss on top of her head. "Just thought I'd have it out."

Emmett grunted from his place at Rose's feet. "'S'what I said, Rose. We'll figure something out."

"Mmhmm." And Rose was lost again, her lips moving rapidly as she scrolled through the strings of code on the screen.

I turned to leave the room, but this time it was Emmett who stopped me.

"Carlisle."

I stopped and looked at him. With a grace that belied his size, he rolled out from underneath the desk and kneeled, putting his hand on Rosalie's thigh.

"When we synthesize the anti-venom, we'll test it on the models first, but… who're we going to test it on before we take it?"

Rosalie and I both stiffened coincidentally. Emmett squeezed Rose's thigh reassuringly, but I could offer nothing. The question had bounced in and out of my mind ever since I had first thought of the idea. I knew Rose would want to be the first to try it out, but I would not allow that. It was highly improbable that the very first compound we came up with would work perfectly; there were bound to be snags. If it was necessary, I was willing to test it on myself, though I knew it would hurt Esme deeply if I died. But that was a last resort; I was still looking for other options. There was always another option.

"I don't know," I told my children eventually. It was as much truth as I could give them, and they deserved that. Emmett, at least, accepted my answer. He nodded and patted Rosalie's leg again. Rosalie hunched her shoulders and focused her attention on the screen. Her mind was made up.

_Not going to happen_, I told myself again.

As I climbed back up to the basement, I was only sure of one thing: I needed Esme.

* * *

I got so impatient waiting for my wife that, after the second time Jasper asked me if I were going to wear a hole in the floor with my pacing, I ran off into the woods to see if I could meet her on her way back. I was normally used to masking my emotions, but these last few days had put me over the edge. In situations like this, there was only one person with whom I could find peace.

As I ran, I remembered the first time Esme and I had gone through a situation like this: the years Edward's 'rebellion.' At first, Esme had been inconsolable. She had only recently seen one son die, and now she had lost another. I had tried to comfort her, telling her that we should – that we must – have faith in Edward, in his conscience, in his ability to find his way back again. I vowed that we would not move until he returned, even though, at times, I hardly thought that he would. It was Esme, my angel, who had shown me the fallacy in my thoughts: how could I babble reassurances to her and exhort her to believe in something which I myself did not? I realized that for too long I had been trying to shoulder the burdens of faith and hope and grief by myself; in those years, we learned to share the burden, and, though I would always look upon it as a dark time in which I had lost my beloved son, there was always the one shining light in it: that, in that time of worry, Esme had truly become my partner, my equal in standing, my wife.

She had brought me comfort then, and I needed it again now. My son was no longer lost to me, but now I had six children instead of the one – and six times the worry. I was afraid that I had opened Pandora's Box too early. I should have seen that the Volturi would not let this go. In my thoughts, I had only considered that they would only be glad of a reason to see our coven – no, our _family_ – disappear, but I should have thought they would have seen this as a weapon. I was not used to thinking from Aro's point of view, and it could prove to be our downfall. I knew that Rose, and by extension, Emmett, would never be happy until they found a way to make themselves human, and I knew that the others in my family yearned for this chance with all their hearts, but more than this I knew that if by keeping us vampires I could keep them safe, I would make sure we stayed this way, and I would do it gladly. Losing Edward for those few years had been unbearable; I would not lose any of the others for an eternity.

* * *

Esme was driving down the dirt and gravel road at just shy of one hundred and thirty miles per hour when I spotted her – or, rather when she spotted me. I was jogging down by the edge of the forest, down a short embankment from the road. Mostly invisible to a human, but I knew my wife would spot me.

Her jeep turned smoothly and skittered to a stop at the edge of the road. I ran over and opened the door for her, hoping I hadn't worried her; if something had been wrong, I would have called her.

She stepped out and raised an eyebrow at me. I suddenly realized I didn't know what I wanted, beyond a vague sense of needing her near me.

"I thought we could go for a walk," I blurted out after a moment. With anyone else, I would have felt stupid, but this was Esme. She didn't disappoint. She stepped out, locked the door, and took my hand, leading me into the forest.

We walked silently for some time: it could have been ten minutes; it could have been three hours. Just being with her gave me peace enough that I didn't keep track. Eventually, Esme sat down on a large rock and pulled me down next to her.

"You're worried."

I opened my mouth to respond, but she put her finger on my lips.

"I am too," she said. She rested her head against my shoulder and squeezed my hand. "Have faith, Carlisle. We have several years before we can test it, and even then…"

"Several years are nothing to Aro. To the Volturi."

Esme straightened and looked me in the eye. "I know, and it…. it terrifies me. But I'm not letting the Volturi lay a hand on my children, and you," she leaned closer, her expression softening. "You won't either."

She kissed me then, a long, slow kiss that soothed me to my core.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" I wondered aloud, earning a raised eyebrow. I meant it, though; Esme really was terrified. She loved the children just as much as I did – more, if it were possible – and she knew just how dangerous the Volturi were, but she put aside her worries to comfort me. Me, who had brought this down on her and all of us.

"I ask myself the same question every day, my dear. How someone as wonderful as you could love me." Esme smirked and lowered her hands to the buckle of my pants. "I think it's only fair we try to answer each other's questions. With demonstrations."

I was completely done unbuttoning her shirt before she finished speaking, my fingers fiddling with her bra clasp. "I think that sounds like a good idea."

And, laughing, I set aside my worries for some hours and reveled in the companionship of my beloved.

* * *

We got back to the house at about four in the morning. As we parked in the garage, I could hear Alice laughing in the living room, and my heart lightened. It seemed as if things had worked themselves out for now.

The children were sitting in front of the newest flat screen, watching one of those horrid claymation Christmas movies from the 1930s. Emmett and Rosalie were playing Clue on the floor in front of the couch. Alice was pretending to watch the movie but really trying to give Rosalie hints about what the murder weapon was. Jasper was halfheartedly watching the movie and sketching a map of the Battle of Fort Henry on a napkin. Bella was lying on the floor and reading a chemistry textbook, and Edward was sitting straight in a chair and leafing through the Quarterly Journal of Medicine. I chuckled at that: replace Edward's polo and jeans with a three-piece suit and he would fit right in a Victorian house. Some things were just so deeply inbred in him that I doubted he would grow out of it if we lived another hundred years.

"Carlisle! Esme!" Alice practically bounded over the couch and ran to hug Esme as soon as we stepped inside. Short as she was, her head barely reached Esme's collarbone, and she peered up at my wife with her head tilted back comically. "I'm glad you're back."

Esme hugged her back, and I dropped the grocery bags and hugged her from the other side, sandwiching Alice between us.

"I knew you'd put Carlisle in a better mood," she said rather smugly, though her voice was muffled.

I heard Edward groan and snap his magazine shut. "I really didn't want to see that, Alice."

Alice giggled and squeezed out from between me and Esme, bouncing back to the couch and jumping into Jasper's lap.

I pulled Esme close to me, and as I did I felt the waves of comfort and happiness envelop me.

Things would be fine: I had my wife and my children with me, and we would think of something together. I had faith in us.

* * *

The idea arrived to me in the form of a patient – an attempted suicide. He'd come down from Anchorage to visit his family; a college student, he was in his third year of pre-med when the stress had finally gotten to him. By the time his family got him to the hospital, he was in the middle of a full-blown breakdown, ranting and raving unintelligibly and trying to punch any of the orderlies that got too close.

He had tried to jump off a cliff, his brother said. Fortunately they had tackled him in time, but he kept trying to run away from them and jump. The brother had a black eye and a cut over his eyebrow that required stitches; I treated that while the nurses got the patient into the psychiatric ward. We could hear the patient yelling from where we were: he kept saying his professors had made him a demi-god, and he had to fall from the heavens to regain his humanity. Fall from the heavens, fall from the heavens, fall from the heavens, over and over and over.

The idea was so stupidly plain that when it occurred to me, I accidentally stabbed the brother in the forehead with my needle – something I had not done in my three hundred years of practicing medicine.

I finished with him quickly and made my excuses with the receptionist, muttering something about Esme feeling ill. I drove slowly and took the long way home, glad that Edward was still in class: I wanted some time to think this over and talk about it with my wife before I told any of the children. It was so obvious that I couldn't believe none of us had thought of it before. Not even Jasper, with all of his experience, had considered it.

It would be very difficult to kill the Volturi. Impossible. I had known it could not happen before I had even thought of it. But there was something else we could do – something that would neutralize the Volturi as a threat to us and keep any other vampires well away from us once we were human.

I had just found the perfect subjects to test the anti-venom on.


End file.
